SALEM, MO — Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block is in the lead and holding firm early on Day 2 of the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in southern Missouri. Block managed to pull a minute ahead of the pack by the end of the first day and was working hard in the snow on Saturday to defend his position. “The grip is inconsistent,” said Block. “I just want to keep the drive consistent and keep doing what I’m doing.”

NOS Energy’s Andrew Comrie-Picard was battling hard with Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust for second place. Comrie-Picard led Foust by just a tenth of a second after nine stages. “We made the choice to start the day on snow tires this morning,” said Comrie-Picard. “It was the right tire, but we put it on just a little too soon.”

A spring snowstorm began this morning while teams were lining up to start the day in Salem, Mo – making the conditions changeable and unpredictable. When the cars moved north to the region of the stage roads, they found the snow had barely begun there.

Meanwhile Dave Mirra, who is competing for Subaru Rally Team USA this season in the Super Production class, had dropped from third to fourth. Rounding out the top-five were former Production GT champion Matt Johnson and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey, who are also in the hunt for this year’s Super Production title.

Block’s flat-out style is well-suited to this event and he’s proven tough to beat here. He and co-driver Alex Gelsomino have won this event three times and they are looking to make it four in a row this weekend.

Mirra’s strong position was evidence of a new confidence for the rally newcomer, who is contesting his first event in the Super Production class. Mirra, who is co-driven this season by veteran Derek Ringer, earned the “Rookie of the Year” title in 2008.

Johnson has achieved mixed results at this event. He earned his first-ever podium finish at the Rally of the 100 Acre Wood in 2008, but had a big crash here in 2007 that wrote off his competition vehicle.

Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana was out of the contest early. He had said earlier he was ready to win or crash trying to keep Block out of the top spot. He and co-driver Christian Edstrom spun off the course and rolled over late on Day 1. They were unharmed, but unable to continue.

Leading the two-wheel drive charge after Day 1 were Dillon Van Way and co-drive Joshua Knott in their 2002 Ford Focus.

The event also serves as a Regional Rally championship event for 2008. Regional class champions from coast to coast are invited to race head-to-head in the foothills of the Ozarks to see who will claim the cup.

The rally takes place through the scenic Ozark foothills of southern Missouri. The course is fast, tight, and twisty, on roads known as some of the best in the nation for rallying.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover more than 100 miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

Top teams in the series are also invited to compete in the Summer X Games, the leading action sports event broadcast live on ABC and ESPN. Eight top teams have already been invited to this August’s contest.

About Rally America
Based in Golden Valley, Minn., Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2009, Rally America will conduct nine National Championship events at venues across the country, from Olympia, Wash., to Bethel, Maine.